This article assesses the dual stresses that climate change and climate-induced migration are imposing on megacities in developing and emerging market countries. While cities in these countries are experiencing unprecedented urbanization, impacts of climate change such as desertification, flooding, and sea level rise will likely further increase urbanization and put additional pressure on physical and social infrastructure. Cities are not impervious to the impacts of climate change and as populations grow, these stresses will become more pronounced, especially if infrastructure and regulations remain underdeveloped. This article draws on two cases, Bangladesh and India, to illustrate the forces that are causing involuntary mobility from rural to urban areas and the consequent stresses that megacities like Mumbai will experience. It concludes with recommendations to develop comprehensive climate adaptation policies in order to limit the impacts of short- and long-term climate change on cities and the economic cost of such investments in the future, and to seek a normative shift on the issue of climate-induced migration to ensure that those victimized by anthropogenic and natural climate change are met with a compassionate, coordinated global regime.
URL : http://diplomatonline.com/mag/pdf/DePaul_Climate_Migration_and_Megacities.pdf